Treatment for reflex sympathetic dystrophy can be done with medications, physical therapy and acupuncture that relieve pain and swelling.
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is characterized by sudden onset of severe pain and swelling that may arise in a leg and foot or in an arm and hand. These symptoms usually arise after a trauma at the affected site, which can be a fall or a fracture, for example, and often the pain felt is much larger than expected for the trauma that occurred.
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy is also known as sudeck atrophy, cotydrophy, causalgia, shoulder-hand syndrome, neuroalgodystrophy, post-traumatic sympathetic dystrophy and Regional Complex Pain Syndrome, the latter being the most current name.
How to identify
Symptoms of this Sudeck dystrophy may include the following changes in the affected region:
- Intense pain in the form of burning;
- Swelling, which can make it difficult to wear shoes or coats;
- Sensitivity changes;
- Change in skin color;
- Increased sweating and cold skin;
- Emergence of hair;
- Tremors and muscle weakness.
Women are most affected and most of the time the most affected body sites are the legs and feet, although the arms and hands may be affected. Rarely the two arms or both legs are affected at the same time.
Treatment for Sympathetic Reflex Dystrophy
Treatment for reflex sympathetic dystrophy can be done with medications such as acetylsalicylic acid, indomethacin, ibuprofen or naproxen as indicated by your doctor.
Physical therapy can be done with
- Analgesic resources, use of cold or hot bags;
- Electro-stimulation apparatus;
- Bandage to reduce swelling;
- Massage;
- Exercises to improve strength, strengthen bones and melt;
- Manual lymphatic drainage and
- Use of tapes attached to the skin to improve blood circulation.
Physiotherapeutic treatment is of great help, contributing to decrease swelling and pain.
Acupuncture also achieves good results and is recommended as a complementary part of the treatment indicated by the doctor and the physiotherapist.
When the affected person performs the proposed treatment it is possible to have an improvement of the logos symptoms in the first 6 to 8 weeks of treatment and usually the cure is reached in about 6 months.
Causes
All causes of reflex sympathetic dystrophy are not yet known, but it is known that it can occur after an accident or trauma, especially in people who are depressed or emotionally unstable, having a picture of mania and insecurities. However, this syndrome can also affect children who are usually perfectionists.
Some situations that seem to aggravate the symptoms are stressful events, fights, change of job or school, and situations like death or illness in the family, which indicates that this disease is potentially aggravated by the emotions.
